attendees to keep their breasts, buttocks and genital regions covered up. the memo goes on to say, sheer clothing and thing-type costumes ar no-no. we'll see who decides to break the rules. putting out a memo to artists what they can and cannot do, asking for trouble. how are they going to enforce that? >> now you'll see limits pushed that much further. >> this is "first look" on msnbc. stay tuned, "way too early" starts right now. i want you to prepare, okay? if you live anywhere from maine to north dakota, to south ohio, because the largest blizzard in decades is poised to swallow the northeast.

>> massive snowfall, powerful wind gusts, a major blizzard is about to hit the northeast. >> a his toric blizzard to dump up to 30 inches of snow. >> there are going to be thousands of people stuck on the highways. >> travel could become nearly impossible. >> that's right. so please, stay off the roads. unless you have snow tires, snow chains, or one of these things. okay? bonus. bonus if you get stranded, you can cut it open and crawl inside. can't do that with a prius. >> good morning. this is "way too early." the show that's blizzard-ready. red bull and slim jims to last the weekend. in case we get snowed in here at work i put my sleeping bag in between willie and al. pucker up, boys. thanks for being with us on friday, february 8 records we have a lot to talk about including the testimony of john brennan, the president's pick to head the cia. we'll show you his answers on the controversial drone program ask why he refused to call

waterboarding torture. new revelations as to what the white house didn't do to help the rebels in syria and why president obama went against the advice of his top advisers. before we get to our top political stories we begin with what will be a record-setting winter storm bearing down on the northeast. could bring easily up to 2 feet to new york city, long island, all of connecticut, all of rhode island, eastern massachusetts, coastal new hampshire and maine blizzard warnings. millions of people, hours left to prepare, the blizzard of 2013 is starting today. you can see where it's located behind me, off the outer banks of north carolina, the heavy rain shield goes up through the mid-atlantic, all the way into southern jersey. the snow part of the storm has yet to begin. that will happen as we go through the morning hours and especially after noon today into new england. that's really your cut-off time if you're anywhere from federal jersey northward. whatever you have to get done, you'll do it in rain this morning. after about noon, get off the

roads. that's when we could get stuck and we want plows to be able to clear everything out. as far as the snow totals go, this is the latest thinking on the storm. we're looking at the possibility of over 2 feet in a huge section of eastern new england. that's the historic part of the storm, from the boston area down to providence. looks like the foot is going to be easily all the way to coastal maine, new hampshire, massachusetts, and connecticut. 6 to 12 inches over everywhere there in the pink shading. we're talking about a huge region of the country that no one's going to be able to travel friday night and saturday morning. i'll take you through the rest of the storm and the timing, break down what roads, airports and train stations to avoid. first, let's get to the rest of the news. on capitol hill yesterday, tough questions about drones and waterboarding dominated a contentious hearing for the man nominated to be the next head of the cia. john brennan the architect of the obama administration's drone program strongly defended their use saying strikes only take place to prevent terror threats, not as punishment for them.

>> i think there's a misimpression on the part of some of the american people who believe that we take strikes to punish terrorists for past transgressi transgressions. nothing could be further from the truth. we only take such actions as a last resort to save lives when there's no other alternative to taking an action that's going to mitigate that threat. >> democratic senator ron widen, when has demanded more insight to the legal justification, pressed brennan on the issue. >> you believe that the president should provide an individual american with the opportunity to surrender before killing them? >> any american who joins al qaeda will know full well that they have joined an organization that is at war with the united states and that has killed thousands upon thousands of individuals, many, many of them who are americans. so i think any american who did that should know well that they, in fact, are part of an enemy

against us. and that united states will do everything possible to destroy that enemy to save american lives. >> brennan was also questioned extensively about waterboarding and the use of enhanced interrogation techniques during the george w. bush administration. it was the same thing that derailed his consideration for cia director four years ago. >> my question is this. in your opinion, does waterboarding constitute torture? >> the attorney general has referred to waterboarding as torture. many people have referred to it as torture. tore general, premiers of law enforcement officer and lawyer of this country. as you well know the term torture has a lot of legal and political implications. do you have a personal opinion as to whether waterboarding is torture? >> i have a personal opinion waterboarding is reprehensible and is something that should not be done. >> brennan never once directly referred to the practice of waterboarding as torture. when he wasn't being pressed by members of the committee he was

hearing from protesters in the crowd who repeatedly interrupted hearing, forcing a frustrated senator dianne feinstein to clear the room. >> please clear the room. please clear the room. >> stand up against torture, stand up against drones, do what we can not to confirm this man. >> they won't even tell congress what country we are killing children? >> if you could please expa did it the removal -- >> are our children more important than the children of pakistan and yemen? do your jobs! >> the capitol police confirm eight people were arrested at the hearing for unlawful conduct. it was a separate hearing on capitol hill that offered new insights into the white house's decision-making concerning the civil war in syria. it happened as outgoing secretary leon panetta and

martin dempsey were testifying before the senate armed services committee. they were asked about the administration's decision not to arm the syrian rebels in their effort to overthrow the assad regime. the plan had received support from the pentagon, the cia, secretary clinton. but ultimately it was the white house that turned down the idea. >> both of you agreed with petraeus and clinton that we should start looking at military assistance in syria, is that correct? >> that was our position. i do want to say, senator, that obviously there were a number of factors that were reversed here that ultimately led to the president's decision to make it nonlethal. i supported his decision in the end. but the answer to your question is yes. >> for both of you? >> yes. >> "the wall street journal" says the white house was concerned about which rebels could be trusted with arms. was also worried about the risk of drawing the united states into another military conflict. but it was questions over benghazi that led to the most heated moments with secretary

panetta and general dempsey defending the administration's response to the deadly raid on the u.s. consulate. >> for you to testify that our posture would not allow a rapid response, our posture was not there because we didn't take into account the threats to that consulate. and that's why four americans died. >> we never received a request for support from the state department. which would have allowed us to put forces -- >> so it's the state department's fault? >> i'm not blaming the state department, i'm sure they had their own -- >> who would you blame? >> i stand by the report of the accountability review board. >> are you surprised that the president of the united states never called you, secretary panetta, and say, how's it going? >> you know, normally in these situations -- >> did he know the level of threat? >> let me finish the answer. we were deploying the forces, he knew we were deploying the forces, he was being kept -- >> i hate to interrupt you but i got limited time.

we didn't deploy any forces. >> no, but the -- >> wait a minute. >> it was over. the event was over before we could move any -- >> it lasted almost eight hours and my question to you is, during that eight-hour period, did the president show any curiosity about how's this going, what kind of assets do you have helping these people? did he ever make that phone call? >> look, there is no question in my mind the president of the united states was concerned about american lives. >> well, all due respect, i don't believe that's a credible statement if he never called and asked you, are we helping these people? as for the man nominated to replace secretary panetta, chairman of the armed services committee says despite republicans' request for more information he would move ahead with the vote as soon as possible. just days before his state of the union, president obama is previewing his second term agenda. focus on immigration, guns, and

tackling the federal deficit. president was looking to rally house democrats at their annual retreat saying he wanted a long-term budget deal but new revenues must be part of the package. >> i am prepared, eager and anxious to do a big deal, a big package, that ends this governance by crisis where every two weeks or every two months or every six months we are threatening this hardline recovery -- >> the president also discussed a looming automatic budget cuts arguing the public favors his plan for a balanced solution. turning to the topic of guns. the president will continue his push to stop gun violence as the first lady pays tribute to the latest victim. michelle obama is headed to chicago this weekend to attend the funeral of 15-year-old what day yeah pendleton. the honors student was shot last week in a chicago park just days after performing at inauguration students in d.c. pendleton was among 40 people

gunned down in chicago last month, making january its deadliest month in over a deck. >> the white house confirms senior adviser valerie jarrett and education secretary arne duncan, long-time chicago residents, will also attend the saturday service. a massive manhunt continues this morning in california for a former police officer accused of going on a shooting rampage that left a police officer and two other people dead. with the suspect threatening to wage war on lapd. police and s.w.a.t. teams spent the night combing bear mountain, two hours east of l.a., where a truck belonging to the suspect, chris dorner, was found burned out with foot tracks leading away through the snow. police say the suspect could be anywhere. >> reporter: thousands of police officers are hunting for a man that used to be one of their own. tactical teams spread across nine counties in southern california. >> of course he knows what he's doing, we trained him. >> reporter: he's heavily armed and extremely dangerous.

police say former lapd officer christopher dorner has already killed three and is gunning for more. >> this has gone far enough. you know, nobody else needs to die. >> reporter: fired from the force in 2009 for allegedly making false statements, dorner says his dismissal was unjust. police say he names those he's targeting in a chilling manifesto published online. lapd has suppressed the truth and it has now led to deadly consequences." >> he's probably one of the more dangerous shooters we've seen in a long time. he has a combination of the will to do what he's doing, the ability to do it, and no particular desire to survive. >> reporter: sunday, police say dorner murdered monica kwan and keith lawrence in a revenge killing. detectives say he tried to steal a boat near san diego, possibly trying to flee to mexico. a badge, his i.d. and wallet

were found in the area. >> vehicle a black nissan titan. >> reporter: with a massive manhunt, two lapd police officers assigned to protect a person named in the manifesto come under fire. one officer is grazed in the head. >> officer shot multiple times. >> reporter: a short time later a gunman opens fire on two riverside police officers. one is killed, the other critically injured. >> our officers were stopped at an intersection at a red light when they were ambushed. >> reporter: tensions high, police open fire on a truck miss takenly believed to be dorner's. two women delivering newspapers are shot and injured. >> we believe this was a case of mistaken identity by the officers. >> reporter: near san diego a navy facility was locked down when someone matched dorner's description, a false alarm. law enforcement officials say they found dorner's burned-out vehicle. s.w.a.t. teams swarm the mountain area near a ski resort,

warning vacationers to stay in their rooms. >> crazy story. miguel almaguer reporting. apple is facing a battle with a luminary hedge fund manager who has sued the company to unlock his $137 billion on cash on hand to pay off dividends. steve sedgwick is live for us in london. steve, what exactly did david einhorn, who is he suing, what's going on here? >> basically, the point is apple wants to change its charter and ban a type of shares which would give a very high yield to investors. they want to preserve their cash pile, $137 billion, part of $500 billion plus held by the top 20 u.s. corporate. they want to hang on to the money, most of which is held offshore, which in brought back onshore into the united states could trigger hefty tax bills. apple wants to hang on to the money to use in other ways going forward. a lot of activist shareholders

and hedge funds want a higher yield on their stock, especially considering the fact that stocks like apple are now trading as low as $468 a share. it's a very anxiety battle for the company and investors. >> steve, the merger talks, american airlines and us airways, where's it stand now? what's the implications for passengers? >> yeah, looks like this one's going ahead. it will create the largest domestic u.s. carrier, part of a process which has taken from us in 2001 to 10, 11 major carriers to four. delta, southwest, united, and this new american airlines. they don't have an enormous overlap on routes, 320, only about 13 of them are overlaps. no necessary worries there. according to price waterhouse coopers, prices in this emergencier period the last decade haven't gone up for passengers. it doesn't look like mergers equal less competition equal higher prices. that is the hope for american passengers using these routes post-merger.

>> thanks, steve, have a great friday. let us know why you're awake, shoot us an e-mail or tweet me. we'll read the best responses later in the show. still ahead on "way too early," another week, another loss for the top-ranked team in college basketball. we'll show you the comeback, the buzzer-beater, a lot of exciting fans, players and coaches next in sports. later, a nightmare for anyone who's ever tried to park in a city. workers paint the handicap marker around a car, then they tow it. we'll explain what's going on here. all your blizzard details when "way too early" comes right back. students were protesting a whites-only bowling alley. the showdown escalated and state police and national guard troops

were called. then on the night of february 8th, for reasons still unclear, authorities opened fire.

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the worst-hit will be boston which is expecting five-foot snowdrifts. my god. if that happens to new york, we won't find our mayor till spring. do not wait until winter storm nemo hits, be proactive. tonight you're going to want to salt your driveways then salt your meats then salt your loved ones. if it's as bad as they say they may soon be your meats. >> look at the ice skating rink at rockefeller plaza. nothing coming down yet but it's not far 8 war. new york city one of the tric trickiest forecasts on the board. right on the borderline there of

a lot of rain or a lot of snow. we're waking up this morning, at least 23 million under blizzard warnings. if you're thinking of traveling in the northeast later today, especially after noon or saturday morning, you may want to reconsider. you should reconsider. more than 1,900 flights have already been canceled, the majority coming from newark, laguardia, jfk, providence, hartford. amtrak is reducing service on excel, new york, boston. governors of most of the affected states are telling people they do not want you on the roads after noon today. the cars get stuck on the highways, the plows can't go down, the roads never get cleared until the tow trucks come. after noon, get home. blizzard warnings, winter storm warnings, from philadelphia northward through the region. the storm itself, the worst of it, is mostly going to be in eastern mass. coastal areas of maine from portland to portsmouth all the way down through the boston

area, cape cod, providence, newport back down into areas of long island, the storm right now is located pretty far to the south. it's located all the way down here over the outer banks. it has a ways to go. the northern edge of the presip shield is creeping up there to central jersey as rain. here's the snowfall predictions. again, the historical part of the storm is the possibility of this two feet plus of snow from providence to boston right along the 495 and i-95 corridors. that would make ittal all-time top five snow storm, possibly the largest snow storm in boston history which by the way is 27 inches. then we're talking lesser amounts the further west you go. hartford 12 to 18. portland 12 to 18, possibly more, especially south of there. again, the impacts start about noon today. the worst of it is after dinner tonight to about 5:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. the reason we're calling for lesser amounts south of new york city, temperatures there 37 in philadelphia. that's why we're calling for mostly rain for you.

even new orleayork city expecti rain, not turning to snow until later tonight. throughout the evening as the storm approaches, wintry mix, new york city to philadelphia. heavy snow interior new england. more on "morning joe" and throughout the day on msnbc. college basketball where it's been a rough year for top-ranked teams in the nation. indiana playing on the road in champagne against the fighting illini. hoosiers get off to a good start in the first half. will sheehey. indiana up big most of the second half. illinois goes on a run. the three from the corner. d.j. richardson. cuts the lead to two. 90 seconds to go richardson knocking down the jumper. tie game at 70-70. indiana, no shot. they don't get a shot off. richardson, another steal, the shot. an amazing block, saves the game possibly for indiana.

we go to overtime. right before overtime, excuse me, that's how it ends. that's the buzzer-beater, a back door pick with the center. there was no one in the lane defending him. call that breakdown on defense, folks. indiana loses, fifth straight week a top-ranked team in the nation has lost. finally to the nhl, rangers announcer john gee knoiannone t puck square in the face while doing ringside reporting, eek. he's still talking, give him credit. oh, blood on the towel, let's listen. >> john, how do you feel down there? >> oh, it's all good, i got a good medical staff with me. marc staal just came over and apologized. it's all good. i literally kept my eye on the puck there, i tell you that. >> jack capuano had one of those the other day. >> what a professional, still doing tv.

>> john gets fixed up, downstairs to al in the studio. it's safer there. >> did i just see that? >> well, he was obviously in good spirits. a couple stitches later he was all right. despite the injury, giannone stayed at his ringside post the rest of the game. coming up on "morning joe," senators interrogate the man picked to be the next top spy. why brennan wouldn't call waterboarding torture. we'll huddle around the water cooler where alex trebek makes a desperate appeal to the younger generation. we'll show you that when "way too early" comes back. [ woman ] ring. ring. progresso. your soups are so awesomely delicious my husband and i can't stop eating 'em! what's...that... on your head? can curlers! tomato basil, potato with bacon... we've got a lot of empty cans. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

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to gather around the water cooler what do you have with sinus. >> you strike me as a guy who warps jeopardy." >> i used to watch all the time. >> to the your typical categories, trebek is having fun with high school contestants, take a look. >> one daily double and it will come up in one of these cat goerls. hey, i just met you. this is crazy. but here's my number. so call me. may "b." yeah, we went there.

>> the whole hip to be square thing, i guess. sadly, in last night's final round, nobody won. the contestants spent all their money and everyone bombed, they all had zero. they're young, they can make up for it. >> good for them. talk about a bad day, it doesn't get much worse than this. check out the surveillance footage of this, a woman in israel found a spot to park her car. while she was gone, some workers arrived and spray painted a handicapped symbol on the pavement under night the car, a tow truck shows up and say law vee. it's not even a tow truck, it's getting flat-bedded, that thing is gone. >> they only put the symbol on the back of the car. >> the story does have a happy ending. the woman got the footage from the building across the street, showed it to the city, they apologized and refunded her fine. that is funny stuff. >> that's the video of the day. the u.s. post office announce sad news this week, less main